


dress up and coloring... a lot of coloring

by Katarin



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Kid Fic, M/M, Montreal Canadiens, post trade
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-14
Updated: 2012-03-14
Packaged: 2017-11-01 23:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/362355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katarin/pseuds/Katarin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hal gets traded and PK's okay with that, he really is. He's still friends with Hal's kids, though, and Carey isn't jealous at all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	dress up and coloring... a lot of coloring

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place around the games right after Hal got traded. 
> 
> Title from [this part](http://youtu.be/rRj3INQI4uE?t=15m50s) of Nos Canadiens: Hal Gill. All thanks to my beta, angelsaves.
> 
> Takes place in the same universe as [this snippet](http://just-katarin.livejournal.com/234790.html?thread=3614502#t3614502) and _It's Complicated_ and is honestly mostly pure fluff.

The first time PK comes by to visit Izzie and Sophie after Hal gets dealt, they're still red-faced and teary-eyed. Anne answers the door with Talon in her arms and a harried look on her face. She blinks in surprise when she sees PK, and PK just smiles.

"Hey!" he says, waving. "Skillsy's family left yesterday, right?" She nods, staring at him like she has no idea what he's saying. It's almost but not quite identical to the look Hal gives him when he's being stupid. "I figured you probably have some stuff you wanted to get done, eh? I could, you know, hang with the girls while you did them."

She keeps staring for a second, and PK shrugs, because maybe it was kind of a dumb idea. She opens her mouth and then closes it, blinking back tears for just a second before nodding. "Yes," she says, and it's the no-nonsense Anne he knows again. "I'll take Talon with me so you don't have to worry about a baby, but yes, not having to keep an eye on Izzie and Sophie would be such a help, PK."

Anne doesn't tell him to come in or anything, just steps away from the door without closing it behind her. Hal does that a lot too, or he did, before getting traded. The two of them being so alike made it pretty easy to get to know her, though. She's like a pretty, less-ginormous Hal, or maybe he's an uglier, giant version of Anne. Either way, it means PK knows what to expect from her.

He follows her inside, closing the door behind him, and heads back to where Izzie and Sophie's rooms are. "Hey," he calls out. "Anyone home? It's PK."

"PK!" two small, girlish voices cry out from Izzie's room. There's a shuffling and thumping sound that's way louder than two little girls should be able to make, and then they're in the hallway, running toward him. They run into him with all the force of a forward coming through the neutral zone, Sophie throwing her arms around his leg and Izzie wrapping hers around his waist.

Izzie pushes her face against his stomach, but before she does, he sees the tear-tracks down her face and how red and blotchy her cheeks are. He just rests his hands on both of their heads and pats them both. "You're not here for Daddy, are you?" Sophie asks, looking up. She isn't even trying to hide her red eyes or how scratchy her voice is.

"Nah," PK says. "Why would I wanna hang with him when I can hang with you? Better company."

Izzie laughs and pulls away. "Really?" she asks, and he nods. "Do you want to color?"

"I'd love to color," he says, and they drag him back to the playroom. Hal's coloring book (the Aladdin and Jasmine one that PK saw Hal pick up at a Rite Aid when they were on the road) stays closed, at the top of the stack, but they give him one of the six Youpi coloring books they have and don't even complain when he bogarts the red, white, blue and orange for it.

He hears Anne leave while he's in the middle of coloring Youpi at center ice with a CH flag, and a few minutes later, Sophie sits up. "I'm hungry," she says, and PK frowns. It isn't dinner time, and he remembers his mom was always on about him not ruining his appetite (before he was serious about playing hockey and then just ate about 6 meals a day), so he doesn't know.

"Maybe a snack?" He tries to say it like a statement, but it comes out as a question.

"We have snacks!" Izzie says. They lead him out to the kitchen and go for the pantry. PK isn't sure about these snacks; it looks like chips in fancy packages.

"I dunno," he says, and then opens up the fridge. "Oh hey! You've got celery!"

"I don't want vegetables," Sophie says, and PK just smiles.

"They're good for you," he says. "Besides, I can make you the funnest snack with celery." Sophie doesn't look like she believes him, but Izzie looks like she's willing to give it a shot.

"Okay, let's make sure you've got the ingredients." He grabs peanut butter and some raisins out of the pantry and then washes and slices the celery.

"It's ants on a log!" he says, when he's done smearing peanut butter on celery sticks and sprinkling raisins over it.

"Ewww!" Izzie says, looking down at her plate.

"Cool!" Sophie says, picking it up and shoving it into her mouth. Izzie eats hers too, once she sees PK didn't magically turn it into actual bugs. While they're crunching away, PK cleans up the mess he made making them. Peanut butter kind of gets everywhere, and he wets some paper towels for the girls to clean up with.

"Gross, PK," Izzie says. "We're just going to wash our hands, with _soap_!"

"Good plan," he says, because obviously. He would've thought of that too, eventually. Anne comes home while the girls are washing up and PK's washing the cutting board and knife he used. She's got a few grocery bags, and he helps her put them away for lack of anything else to do.

"Thank you for... you know," Anne says while she's putting some formula away in the pantry.

"No problem," he says. "You know I like hanging with the girls." She turns around and looks at him, face approving and weirdly like an expression his mom makes when PK's managed to make the right decision.

"PK!" Izzie calls from back toward the playroom. "Crayons!"

"Duty calls," he says and heads back out.

When he heads for home, after several colored pages and an impromptu judging ceremony that Talon somehow ended up judging, it's with promises he'll come back. Izzie hugs him tight until he agrees, and it feels good. He doesn't even miss Hal as much, afterward.

***

"So I was wondering if you wanted to go for dinner?" Carey asks after practice. "I'll even pay, so long as it's not sushi."

"You're gonna pry open your wallet?" PK asks, hipchecking him.

"You can make it up to me later," Carey says, voice low. They're in the parking garage, so he can, but PK still laughs.

"Wish I could," he says. "Hell of an offer, Carey but I got plans tonight."

"Plans?" Carey asks, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" he asks. "I plan. No, really, quit laughing, Carey."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Carey asks, and PK shrugs.

"I can come by tonight if you want," he says. "I just can't do dinner."

"Yeah?" Carey asks, and PK nods. "Okay, I'll see you tonight."

***

"I'm getting smoked meat!" Izzie says.

"Have you had that before?" Anne asks, looking over at her from where she's getting Talon situated in his baby highchair. She's frowning.

"Of course!" Izzie says. "My teacher says it's a provincial delicacy." She says it all the right way, but like she's repeating what she's heard before.

"No foie gras, PK," Sophie pipes up, and PK grins.

"Would I do that?" he asks, giving her his most honest expression, and Sophie giggles.

"Sophie, what do you want?" Anne asks her and Sophie looks at her menu.

"Need help?" Izzie asks and Sophie nods, because she doesn't read very well yet and she definitely doesn't read French. "You liked l'agneau rôti, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Sophie says, and points to what her sister is pointing at. "That's what I want, PK!"

"You got it," PK says and turns to Anne. "What about you and Talon?"

"You don't have to get us dinner too," Anne says.

"Nah, C'mon, my treat," PK says, smiling. "Try not to run the bill up like Skillsy, though, eh?"

"I'll have a steak and extra of the mashed potatoes, so I can share with Talon," she says.

"Awesome. The mashed potatoes here are really great, different kind of potatoes all mixed together... not that I'd know from experience." He looks away, and the girls laugh.

"No cheating, PK," Izzie says, in her best version of Hal's stern dad-voice she can manage. It sends a stab of sadness through him, and suddenly he misses Hal, and how Hal would be giving him hell for finally getting around to paying for dinner with the girls. This was the restaurant he took them to for their weekly date (so long as he was home), and PK's just lucky to have been invited so many times.

"PK!" Sophie says, pretty loudly and like she's already said it a few times. PK shrugs off being whiney and lets them help him figure out what he can eat.

Anne has a few glasses of wine because PK's driving, and it makes her smile more and even laugh a few times at the ridiculous things her girls do. "Thank you for this, PK," she says when he's helped her get the girls, Talon and their leftovers into the house. She hugs him, pulling him into a surprisingly strong embrace, and then kisses his cheek. "Hal would be proud of you." He ducks his head, and she pats his cheek before stepping away.

Driving to Carey's is kind of weird after a whole night with Anne and the girls. Carey answers his door for him right away, though, pulling him inside with a kiss. It quickly turns into Carey dragging him back toward his bedroom.

He's got PK's shirt off and is dragging his teeth over PK's pulse when he pulls back. "Are you wearing perfume?" he asks, looking down at him.

PK blinks up at him for a second, unsure how to explain about Izzie and Sophie or Anne thanking him. Instead he just shrugs. "What? I can't get myself dolled up to come see you, Carey?"

Carey just stares at him for a second and then shakes his head. "You shouldn't have. Really, it's an even worse smell for you than your terrible aftershave."

"I use the classy Axe, thank you," PK says, and Carey rolls his eyes and shoves him back onto the bed.

Carey fucks him on his hands and knees, a little harder than he usually would the day before they start a road trip, but not so hard PK's gonna complain. It's good, and he makes sure to get PK off first, fist tight around his dick and his entire body pressed along PK's back. When Carey comes, he bites PK's shoulder and rocks forward hard, pinning him to the bed. They're sweaty and sticky when Carey rolls off of him. "I planned to stay the night, you cool with that?" PK asks, and Carey nods, so he does.

***

"Are those coloring books?" Carey asks when they're wandering around Chinatown after the game. Losing sucks and losing to the Capitals of all people sucks even harder, not that PK can throw stones at the Caps' losing record, considering the Habs' own.

"Yeah," PK says, because these are cool coloring books and Izzie and Sophie are gonna love them.

"Damn," Patch says, walking up with coconut water and something frilly that PK assumes is for his wife. "Did you start hitting it with a chick with kids?" He looks at the small pile in PK's arms and shakes his head.

Carey's looking at him, one eyebrow raised, and his entire face has gone blank. PK doesn't know what to say, but he's saved by Gomer walking up to them. "Those for Skillsy's girls?" he asks, looking over the books.

"What?" Patch asks, surprised.

Gomer looks back and forth between Patch, Carey and PK and rolls his eyes. "What? You think I don't know you're hanging around with the girls?"

"PK's playing babysitter?" Patch asks, grinning like a maniac.

"It's not like that," PK says, because he's not babysitting, he's visiting and playing games and hanging out with some friends of his. "They just… they miss their dad, and I figured it wouldn't be cool to just stop talking to them 'cause he's not… so we still have pretty sweet hangs." He tries to fold his arms, forgetting for a second that he's got an armful of books, and instead shifts from foot to foot. "I gotta go buy these."

He pays for the coloring books and waits around while the other guys buy their stuff. "So," Carey asks, tucking the bag of sunflower seeds he bought into his pocket. "You've been spending a lot of time with Skillsy's kids?"

PK shrugs. "I used to a lot, when he was still around. What, I should stop 'cause he got traded?" he asks. "That's pretty shitty, man."

"No," Carey says, shaking his head. "I was just… it's a surprise, I guess. Though, it answers where you've been all this time."

"Been missing me, Carey?" PK asks, hipchecking him. "Have I not been giving you enough TLC? Hate to hurt your feelings."

"Fuck off," Carey says. He pulls PK into his room when they get back to the hotel, but they don't really have time to do more than kiss a little. It's really good kissing, though, because Carey always makes it worth his while, pinning him up against the wall and tilting his face down so it feels like he's all around him. "Night, PK," Carey whispers into his mouth, before PK has to head out. PK can't honestly say he minds not having gotten it wet tonight.

***

"You up for some XBox?" Carey asks, and PK feels bad for shaking his head.

"Can't, man, plans," he says.

"You hanging with the girls?" Carey asks, frowning.

PK nods. "I got a hot date with a tea party," he says. "Izzie's making it herself. I can come over after, though, if you want?"

"Sure, if you want," Carey says, shrugging. He's still frowning, look more than a little pinched, but PK's gotta book it if he's gonna make it in time for the tea party, so he doesn't bother wondering what his problem is.

He tries to push it and manages not to hit too many lights, so he's only a little late when he knocks on the door. "PK!" Izzie says when she opens it. She's already in a frilly dress and tiara, about ten necklaces around her neck. "Come on, we've got to get you ready. Mom's still helping Sophie take the cookies out of the oven, so we've got some time."

She leads him to the playroom and PK sits down across from her, letting her clip some earrings onto his ear. She only puts them on one ear, which is unusual, but it's her tea party. He's expecting her to grab his boa next, but instead she's looking consideringly at him. "I think we should try out a scarf," Izzie tells him, grabbing a black and red one from the dress up box.

She ties it around his neck and then turns it to the side before nodding. "Okay, now these." She pulls out a pair of long evening gloves, like something out of an old movie, and PK frowns.

"I dunno if they'll fit, Izzie," he says, because they're about half the size of his forearms at most. No way are his arms fitting in there.

"No, you're right," she says, and rummages in the dress-up box some more before pulling out another scarf.

"What's that for?" he asks, and Izzie grins.

"For your head, silly," she says, and reaches into the box and pulls out a bunch of gold-colored bangles. "Put those on while I tie this on." He shrugs but does what she says, unsure just what kind of tea party this is supposed to be.

He catches sight of himself in the mirror when she's done. He looks sort of ridiculous with a scarf around his neck and around his head, but playing along is the point, so he leaves it alone. Then he sees Sophie carrying a tray of cookies into the playroom, and she's got an eyepatch on and her stuffed flamingo taped to her shoulder. He thinks he gets it now, and when he crawls into the playhouse and Talon is in there with a stick taped to his leg and a red and white striped cap on his head, he's sure of it.

"Is this a pirate tea party?" he asks, and Sophie and Izzie nod.

"I'm your captive," Izzie says.

"And I'm the Captain, see my hat?" She puts on a black pirate's hat with a skull and crossbones on it. "Talon's my first mate. We were going to put one of the playhouse knives on his belt, but Mom said even the plastic was probably too sharp." PK looks closer and sees that there's a thin strip of brown string around Talon's onesie, that he guesses is his belt. It's one of the onesies he eats in, too, so it's got some stains, and he guesses that makes it look a little more piratey.

"So what does that make me?" he asks, and Izzie smiles.

"You're the cabin boy!" she says. "You serve tea and cookies to me and Sophie."

"Oh, okay," he says, and does. It's kind of hilarious, pouring iced tea into little cups while Sophie speaks with a ridiculous pirate accent and Izzie pretends to be afraid of her and Talon.

There's a particularly great moment where Sophie's trying to convince Izzie to tell her where the treasure is and threatening her with the wrath of her first mate. Izzie shifts over, pleading up at Talon, who's got his hand in his mouth and drooling. "No, please," she says, grabbing onto his feet. "It's all my family has in the world!" And Talon must think it's a game, because he giggles and smacks his sister with a wet fist. They all explode into laughter and PK jostles his foot a little, nearly overturning the table.

It's fun, and when he hugs them goodbye, he's more than a little sorry he promised to have dinner with Carey because he wants to stick around for dinner.

"Have fun?" Carey asks when he shows up at his place. His apartment smells like barbecue, and PK doesn't know if he grilled or ordered in, but it smells great so he kind of doesn't care.

"Yeah," PK tells him, grinning and pulling him in for a kiss. "I had a great time." Carey frowns but kisses him back, pulling him close. It's not a bad way to end the day.

***

"You're going to Hal's _again_?" Carey asks. He honestly sounds kind of annoyed. PK doesn't like it.

"Yeah, we've got a bit of a break and I'd like to get some hangs in before we head out on the road again, Carey," he says, pulling on a plaid shirt that he’s pretty sure belongs to Carey. Carey bites his lip and looks away, shrugging.

"Whatever," he says and heads off. PK tries not to let it bother him, because sometimes Carey's an asshole; part of being a goalie in general and Carey specifically means that for all he's laid back, he can be moody as fuck. Instead, he heads for Hal's and smiles when the girls answer the door for him.

The girls have big plans for today. They got some new karaoke game, and apparently he has to get dressed up before he sings, for some reason. "I like this wig," Sophie says, pulling out a ziplock bag with a bright red wig in it. Izzie frowns.

"I think he should have longer hair," she says, pulling out a bag with a black-haired wig.

"Oh! What about this one?" Sophie asks, and PK's suddenly impressed with how many wigs they have in that dress up box when she pulls out a long, blond wig.

Izzie stares at it for a second and then looks at Sophie with a huge grin. "Beyonce!" they both say at the same time, and PK doesn't know what that means, but it seems to decide what wig he'll be wearing, so he sits tight.

"I'll do your hair and Sophie's gonna paint your nails," Izzie says and starts brushing out the wig. It's cheap and a little tangled, but Izzie manages to brush it out, mostly, and then she's putting it on his head and doing some complicated stuff with little barrettes and things. PK helped braid his little cousin's hair once, but it wasn't nearly as involved as this.

While Izzie's going to work on his hair, Sophie's painting his nails a pale pink color. "Hey, PK?" she asks while painstakingly dragging the little brush over his nails.

"Yeah?" he asks, watching.

"You're not gonna get traded, are you?" she asks. PK blinks, feeling like he's been punched in the gut.

"Why... why do you ask?" he asks.

"Izzie's class reads the paper sometimes, and they said people wanted you traded." Sophie's looking up at him now, eyes a little big.

"I don't want to be traded," he says, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"But you might," she says, and she isn't crying, but it's a near thing.

"Hey," he says, reaching out with his polish-free hand to take hers. "I won't lie and say it definitely won't happen. We're friends and it's wrong to lie to your friends. But I don't want to, if that means anything."

Sophie sniffs and wipes at her eyes. "I'd miss you if you did," she says in a tiny voice.

"I would too, Soph'. Believe me," he says, and pulls her toward him. It's awkward to hug her from this angle, but she doesn't seem to mind. She presses her face into his neck, and it's kind of gross and snotty, but PK isn't about to complain to her about it.

Finally, she pulls away and wipes at her face some more. "You wanna go get cleaned up?" he asks, and she nods and leaves. PK wipes at his neck, trying not to disrupt whatever Izzie's doing with the wig on his head. She's awfully quiet, and he's about to ask her if she's okay when she speaks first.

"That was good," Izzie says. "She's been really sad about Daddy not being here. I told her it's just like he's on a really long road trip, but she can't help being sad."

"It's gotta be hard," PK says, and he can feel Izzie shrug.

"She's just a kid," Izzie says, like being seven makes her ancient.

"Still," PK says. "She's lucky to have an older sister like you to take care of her."

Izzie stops messing with the wig, and then her little arms are around his neck and she's hugging him from behind. "Thanks, PK," she says, and PK squeezes her hands in one of his to hug her back. She really is a tough kid, even at seven, and PK thinks it's sweet how she pretends not to miss Hal for her mom's sake. He doesn't think Anne buys it, but it's sweet.

He doesn't think anything about the doorbell ringing, but he's shocked when Carey walks in the door. "Hey," Carey says, leaning up against the doorway.

"Hey," PK says, blinking in surprise. He has no idea what Carey's doing here, and he doesn't exactly know how to ask with the girls right there.

"Heard there was a, umm, tea party?" Carey says, kind of awkwardly.

There's silence for a second, and then Izzie sighs. "It's a karaoke battle," she says.

"Did you want to play too?" Sophie asks, and Carey shrugs.

"Sure?" he says, and Izzie claps her hands.

"I know _exactly_ what to do now!" she says, and abandons PK's wig.

"What about me?" he asks, and Izzie turns back, rolling her eyes.

"Your hair is done, as soon as Soph is done with your nails you're good to go," she says.

PK nods and tries not to laugh at how uncomfortable Carey looks, sitting down cross-legged while Izzie combs through his hair. "Your hair is so perfect for this," Izzie tells him. "You don't even need a wig like PK!"

"Lucky me," Carey says, leaning back while Izzie drags a comb through his hair. "What does my hair have to do with karaoke?"

"You need to be a total package, Carey," Izzie tells him. Carey just frowns like he doesn't get it but doesn't argue. There's kind of a lot of clips involved, tiny little sparkly things that PK's seen in Sophie's hair before and that he wasn't aware that Izzie knew how to use.

"So if PK's singing Beyonce, what should Carey sing?" Sophie asks Izzie while finishing up PK's pinkie finger.

"I'm not that great a singer," Carey argues.

Izzie laughs. "Neither is PK," she says. "Sophie and I are doing different Bieber songs, what do you think you can do?"

"Umm, do you have anything country?" he asks, and Izzie nods.

"Yeah! I know just the thing!" she says.

That's how Carey ends up in their living room, with a jump-rope tied to his belt, listening to a song by Taylor Swift and trying to learn the beat while the girls are changing. "I fucking hate Taylor Swift," Carey hisses. “Fake country _bullshit_.”

"Suck it up, Carey. You're the one who came over, be a good sport," he tells him. He still doesn't know why Carey came over, it's not his scene at all. "You've got a sister, doesn't this take you back?"

" _Little_ sister, PK," Carey says. "That means we did what I wanted. So no, this doesn't take me back to all the games of shinny and tag I forced her to play when we were kids." He moves his head kind of sarcastically when he says it, which makes the clips in his hair clink against each other. Carey makes a face.

"Man, Talon's got his work cut out for him," PK says, and Carey laughs.

"You boys staying for dinner?" Anne asks, showing up almost out of nowhere with Talon in her arms. The way she asks it makes it seem like a question, but the look on her face really doesn't.

"Yeah, of course," Carey says, before PK manages to. Anne just nods and heads back out. "It's creepy how much she's like Hal sometimes.”

“Right?” PK says. “I mean, it makes sense. My mom and dad are kinda like that sometimes. But still.”

Carey smiles. “You ever think we’ll --” He stops abruptly, and isn’t smiling anymore.

“What?” PK asks, and Carey shakes his head.

“Nothing,” he says, looking away. “Where are the girls?”

Carey’s fucking terrible at singing. It doesn’t help that he can’t force himself to look happy about singing _Our Song_ by Taylor Swift with a bunch of multi-colored butterfly clips in his hair. PK doesn’t know what to say to him, though, because the trick to this is to just go for it and pretend you don’t look kind of stupid.

He gets up to sing _Single Ladies_ and makes sure to flip his wig around a lot, even though he's really bad at trying to do the dance from the video. He moves his hips and hand pretty decently, but keeps getting messed up in whether he should be shaking his hips or doing that almost-running man thing. Maybe he should have watched the video on his phone while the girls were changing.

The girls are awesome, though, and still clap for him afterward, despite how badly sung the actual song is. It's really not that hard, he doesn't see why Carey was so bad at it. He makes sure to clap extra hard after the girls finish their Bieber songs, and even manages not to laugh at Sophie trying to Dougie.

"So how would you rope a cow?" Izzie asks when they're done and Sophie's declared the winner (PK hates to pick sides, but Sophie’s dance moves were a little bit better).

Carey looks down at her and then to the jump rope she's pointing at, still tied to his belt. "Umm, well, it's not really the right weight or material or --" Izzie was watching him hopefully before, and her face falls while he's speaking. "-- I could show you the basics, though?" he offers.

"Maybe you can bring one of your real ropes next time!" Sophie suggests, and Carey just blinks.

"Yeah, and show us how to rope the neighbors' dog!" Izzie says. Anne clears her throat behind them.

"Or maybe some chairs?" Carey suggests, looking back at Anne, who nods.

"Yay!" Izzie says, and PK's impressed that they've wheedled another visit out of him.

Dinner is pretty laid back, with the girls asking Carey about the kinds of cows he ropes and sitting mostly patiently when he explains what a steer is. PK helps Anne clear the table, and Carey rolls up the sleeves on his plaid shirt and starts washing the dishes. The girls help him out, putting the dishes he cleans and rinses into the dishwasher while asking him ridiculous questions about being a cowboy.

PK can see a lot of pretend games of cowboy and cowboy-themed tea parties in his future. When they’re finished, Anne taps the girls on the head. “Okay, say goodbye to PK and Carey,” she says. “It’s time for you girls to get to bed.”

“Bye, PK,” Sophie says, hugging him tight. PK kisses her head and then hugs Izzie too, noticing like always how small they are, compared to him.

“We’ll see you soon,” PK says, and the girls nod. Anne kicks them out without leftovers, smiling softly at them and hugging PK.

“It was nice of you to both come over,” Anne says. "It really means a lot to the girls."

"Later, Anne," PK says, and heads out with Carey.

"C'mon," Carey says. "I'll drive us back to my place. You can pick up your car some other time." Carey sounds pretty serious, so PK doesn't bother to argue.

"It was fun, eh?" PK asks, and Carey shrugs a little too casually.

"It was okay, I guess," he says.

"Oh please," PK says. "That was fun. Why else would you have come?"

Carey shrugs. "I just wanted to see what you're always up to lately," he says, and it's too casual again, off in a really obvious way.

"Oh, wow," PK says, getting it suddenly. "You're jealous."

"I am not --" Carey begins, but it's bullshit, so PK cuts him off.

"This is like, a million times more embarrassing than the time you were jealous of Hal, by the way," PK says, grinning. "Jesus, you're jealous of my tea party time with the girls."

"You spend a lot of time there lately!" Carey says, and then looks away, blushing. "Sorry for wanting to spend time with you."

"You're such a possessive freak," PK says, still grinning.

"I just... I wanted to see if there was any particular reason you were spending tons of time with kids lately," Carey says, glancing at him meaningfully, and PK has no idea what he's getting at.

"Huh?" PK says.

Carey goes bright red and turns his head in order to merge into another lane. "I was just... it's not completely stupid to think you might want kids someday."

"Oh!" PK says, 'cause this is suddenly heavy. "Well, yeah, but not... I mean... not for a while. I'm still really, umm --"

"Yeah, PK," Carey says. "I got that from hanging with you all. You're just playing big brother."

"Exactly!" PK says, because that's exactly it. He doesn't really want... not now. Though... maybe someday, maybe even with Carey. it's weird thinking about that, but now that he is, he thinks it wouldn't be completely terrible.

"Missing your own?" Carey asks, and PK looks at him for a second before getting it and ducking his head.

"People get traded, that's how the game goes," he says. "I dunno how they did it in the W, but in the O, sometimes people got traded and sometimes they’re friends. It was the same in the A,” PK tells him.

“Obviously I don’t know the W near as well as you know the O, since I wasn’t there as long as you were,” Carey says, smirking.

“Whatever, Carey.” PK rolls his eyes.

“It’s okay to miss Hal, you know,” Carey tells him. “You... he was your friend. He meant a lot to you.”

“I play my best friend four times a year,” PK says, defensively. Carey reaches out to smack him in the back of the head.

“Don’t be stupid, PK,” Carey says. “It’s not the same. You won’t have to play him again, he’s just gone, and all the stuff you used to do with him is still around. So don’t beat yourself up, PK. You’re not a heartless bastard, there’s a shock.”

PK smiles over at him. “Okay, fine,” he says. “So... what’s this about you wanting to have all my babies?”

“Fuck off, PK,” Carey says, blushing.


End file.
